The Settlement
by classyblue
Summary: A new King arrives and all the old rules no longer apply. A lesson is about to be learned.


The Settlement

The little man had entered Hephaestion's' new rooms muttering to himself. He was older than Hephaestion and small in stature. His eyes were rimmed with fatigue and lack of sleep and the stress he was under surrounded his body. He had come to the one person he was told might possibly be able to help him.

The new King was now in residence at the palace. Darius was in hiding and running for his life. Alexander and his commanders were making their presence known and felt. Things were going to be different from now on, at least most of them were.

He could still hear the bickering and fighting buzzing in his ears as he waited for General Hephaestion. The harem was a place full of lies, deceit and jealousy. Darius had ruled with a hard hand and now he was gone and couldn't settle the storm that was brewing. Hades had no fury like the one the two eunuchs were starting there now. It needed to be stopped and quickly before things got completely out of hand.

"My name is Hephaestion, what do they call you?" The man behind the desk said.

"Sarand, sire."

"Please rise Sarand and tell me about yourself. Do you live here at the palace?"

For the next few minutes Sarand could not believe what transpired. There was no doubt that Hephaestion was in charge but he never made Sarand feel unwelcome or uncomfortable. Sarand had heard many of the stories floating around about the new King and his Hephaestion. Like many that had been left behind at the palace when the battle for Persia took place, Sarand too had wondered what kind of man could possibly defeat the great Darius. He had been as shocked as the rest when their King left them alone as he fled with a few of his men and left everything for the new young King, Alexander.

The new King had been gracious and kind to everyone, especially the royal family. But Sarand had seen a lot in his years, and the man in front of him now was someone not to be taken lightly.

After sometime the conversation got back to Sarand's original purpose for being there. He tried to explain the Harem and it's workings as tactfully as he could. Hephaestion let him talk; nodding occasionally at something he had heard. Sarand finally broached the subject of the two bickering and unruly eunuchs that were making a shambles of the harem.

Hephaestion gracefully rose from his seat and headed for the door of his rooms. "I would like to meet these two and see what is going on."

As they entered the harem, all eyes turned towards them. Some sighs could be heard along with a few groans. More than one hand smoothed down a wayward hair or strengthened a piece of clothing. Many eyelashes fluttered, both male and female, as the handsome man walked past them. Taking no notice, he followed Sarand as they walked towards the noise that was coming from a corner of the harem. The level of sound increased with each step they took. Hephaestion rounded a corner and saw two men face to face screaming at each other at the top of their lungs.

Hephaestion let them continue while he watched quietly assessing them. One of them finally noticed the stranger in the room, one of the new Kings men, and bowed, barely. The other did the same and then retuned his attention back to his enemy in front of him, but neither said anything else and quiet finally floated over the room.

"There seem to be some sort of disagreement between you too." Hephaestion said quietly.

Both men began talking again at once and trying to out scream the other.

Hephaestion took a step towards them and raised his hand in silence. Quiet again came, except for heavy panting from both contestants.

"One at a time please, you first." He said pointing to the man in front of him on his right.

"He is trying to take what is mine. It is my right to have this space and he thinks he can stop me from getting what is rightfully mine."

The other man could no longer hold his tongue and erupted with his own words. "It is not his, it is mine and I will have it because it was promised to me."

Soon both were screaming at each other again until Hephaestion calmly stepped between the two and they stopped.

"You said that it was promised to you?"

"Yes." The eunuch said, smirking at the other.

"And who made this promise?" Asked Hephaestion.

"Why, the King." Was the reply?

"The King?"

Of course, King Darius." The man answered proudly.

"I see," said Hephaestion.

He walked a few paces away and then turned to face them both. The other man again began his side of the argument and both were soon at it once more.

"So…" Hephaestion began, "You follow the commands of Darius?"

Both men stopped and looked at him as if he was mad. "Yes, he is our King."

"And where is your King Darius now?"

Not a sound could be heard now around the room from the two men, and everyone else that had gathered to watch the proceedings.

"Maybe you should join your King and he can settle this argument for you. I can arrange for you to join him." He said with a smile.

One of the men swallowed hard and the other stood with his mouth open.

"If you want YOUR king to settle this, then you must go to him, but if you want THE King of Persia to help you, then you are in the right place. This space you are arguing over doesn't belong to either of you, it belongs to King Alexander now, does it not?"

Hephaestion stood tall and majestic, the epitome of strength and command, a man in charge of his surroundings. Neither man spoke again, only bowed to his words and presence.

"I will look into the matter and let you know what we decide. Is there anything else you want to talk about while I am here?"

Both men shook there heads and bowed their way back away from Hephaestion's stare.

"Good, then I trust we will have no other problems over King Alexander's space?"

Many heads shook in agreement as Hephaestion turned and left the battleground.

Sarand watched him leave in awe. Darius may have been a great king but he was no longer here. Alexander looked to be even greater but the man he had just witnessed was not far behind.

Now the meaning of Alexander's words to the Queen at their first meaning made more sense. Now the rumors about Alexander and his Hephaestion became more real.

Alexander was the new King but he was not alone.


End file.
